Sunday, June 5, 2016

Homily: 10th Sunday of Ordinary Time 2016 - Some stories are true...



From childhood, I have loved reading about myths: the Greek and Roman myths gods of Mount Olympus, Odysseus battling the cyclops, Jason and the Argonauts sailing for the golden fleece, Orpheus descending into the Underworld to retrieve his lost love, Eurydice.; the Nordic Myths of Odin and Thor, the Egyptian Osiris and the book of the dead.

Sometimes we use the word ‘myth’ to describe a falsehood, a story in direct opposition to the facts of history.  But in the pre-modern world, a myth was not the same thing as a lie.  Rather, it was a story used to explain abstract ideas, teach virtues, or embody deeply felt beliefs. 

Jesus himself used stories to teach the Gospel--parables.  Was there really a sower who scattered seed on rocky ground, thorny ground, and good soil? Probably not. But his story conveyed a deeper truth, that God’s word sometimes does not take root in our souls because of our hard-hearts, or our sinful attachments.

The myths we pass on, the stories we tell are powerful, they can shape a mind for the good or the bad.  I think some of the newer Disney movies, for example, have some very strange moral teachings lurking under the colorful characters.  The popular Disney movie, Frozen, for example, has the main character singing “let it go. Let go of all limits. No right, no wrong, no rules for me,” she sang.  That’s heresy. That’s dangerous to the soul. You really want your children throwing away lessons of right and wrong? Do you want your neighbor kids not believing it’s wrong to break into your house? No wonder it became the most popular song in the country for several months.

Personally, I like a lot of those old stories, which held to the belief that there is a difference between right and wrong.  Stories of Knights going off to battle dragons, undertaking dangerous arduous quests to break the curse cast on their beloved princesses. Perhaps, our culture is becoming so morally devoid because it stopped telling the right sort of stories--stories that bear authentic moral truth and virtue.

What sets the Bible, the story of our Christian faith aside from all of the other world myths, is that our story is true AND it actually happened. So, we especially teach our children the stories from Scripture. Some of these shows like Veggie Tales are really good, because they introduce children to biblical figures and the truths of the Word of God. Our summer vacation bible school does the same thing.

As St. Paul was teaching throughout Galatia, accusations were brought against him that he was making up this story that Jesus of Nazareth had risen from the dead.  “Why should we believe Paul? He’s just telling us a nice story.”

Paul says, no, this is not just another story.  He gives them several powerful reasons to believe Him. He explains to them that he was a member of the elite class of top rabbis in Jerusalem.   When Christianity came onto the scene, he was its most energetic and violent persecutor.  He had put Christians to death because he believed Christianity was a diabolical heresy. But then, as he made his way to Damascus, he had a conversion of mind and heart. Jesus Christ appeared to Him and called him to be a missionary of the Gospel. It was as if he had been blind to the truth of the faith and could now see. This Gospel is true, he told the Galatians, this Gospel is worth suffering for…and he had before coming to Galatia, he had been imprisoned, flogged, stoned. The apostles, too, in Jerusalem, had suffered for this same Gospel, for Jesus had appeared to them as well.

St. Paul wrote to the Galatians, as we heard in our Second Reading today: “I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel preached by me is not of human origin. For I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ.”

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not of human origin; it is not a myth. It comes from God, not simply to entertain us, not simply to form our moral compass. God’s word is life-giving. Our Christian faith is a conduit to receive the life of God. It is a channel, into our hearts, whereby sinners are restored to life and set back on the road that leads to eternity with God in heaven.

Yes, Jesus taught in parables, to convey the truths of the Gospel, but he also showed the life-giving power of God at work through miracles. He came not simply to tell stories, but to restore us and imbue us with life.

We heard one of those miracles in the Gospel reading today. A young man, had died, and was being carried off to his funeral in a coffin. And Jesus, through his divine authority, commanded life itself to re-enter this dead boy.  Many of those who witnessed this miracle recognized that “God had visited his people.” For only God has the power to Give life, only God has the power to restore sinners to grace.

Friends, I think sometimes we have to resist this tendency of treating our faith simply as a set of stories. If they are simply a set of stories, we can control them, we can pick and choose which ones we like and ignore the others. But to treat our faith simply as a nice story deprives it of its power, it keeps God at a distance. 

Those who witnessed the miracles in today's Readings reacted by expressing awe and faith in God. They glorified God and renewed their trust in him. We too can experience this awe and renewed faith when we prayerfully read God’s word, when we prayerfully receive the sacraments, and when we prayerfully engage in the works of mercy.

Last week, on the feast of Corpus Christi, and spoke on coming to a renewed faith in the real of presence of Christ in the Eucharist—coming to receive the Eucharist today as if it were your first time and your last time.

How about Scripture? How often throughout the week are you reading scripture, prayerfully? I would like to propose a 10 minute challenge. Read the Bible for 10 minutes a day. Our bulletins have the readings used at daily mass throughout the week. I suggest using those. Read through those readings and spend the rest of the 10 minutes asking God: “What are you saying to me, now, through your inspired Word? How does this affect me, in the ordinary activities of my life?” After those 10 minutes you could journal down your thoughts, or share them on Twitter or Facebook or with someone who seems to need a bit of encouragement, or simply continue to reflect on them throughout the day.
10 minutes a day of reading and reflecting will open doors to God in our life like you’ve never imagined.


The Lord wishes to imbue us with renewed life, to raise us from the dead, to deepen our conviction for the Gospel that we may become its witnesses to the ends of the earth, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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